The Spectator

Saturday

The Spectator

Letters | 14 April 2012

Threatened ChristiansSir: Douglas Davis’s article on the plight of Arab Christians (‘Out of the east’, 7 April) raised a very important issue. What a shame he cynically exploited their misery to perform a clumsy character assassination on Muslims generally. Conjuring sensational phrases like ‘judenrein’ to raise the spectre of 1930s German fascism, was not only utterly irrelevant; it reminded the reader of Mr Davis’s highly partial agenda. He doesn’t mention, for instance, that the Syrian Christian community’s plight is bound up with their perceived tactical support for the repressive Assad regime. It’s indisputably tragic, but it is not black and white.

The Spectator

Barometer | 14 April 2012

Local heroesThe BBC spent £2 million on fares to allow London-based staff to commute to its new studios in Manchester. There are some well-known people who live in Salford: — Harold Riley, artist — Mike Sweeney, DJ — Andy Whyment, actor And some Salford-born people who moved away: — Alistair Cooke, broadcaster — Ben Kingsley, actor — Albert Finney, actor — Robert Powell, actor — Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer Old boy networkRobert Mugabe is reported to be on the point of death aged 88. Africa has produced long-lived leaders and ex-leaders in spite of low general life expectancy.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 14 April 2012

HomeThe European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain would not violate human rights by extraditing to the United States five terrorist suspects: Abu Hamza, Babar Ahmad, Adel Abdul Bary, Talha Ahsan and Khaled al-Fawwaz; the case of Haroon Aswat, who suffers from schizophrenia, was adjourned. A car bomb was found at Newry, Co. Down. The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigated ten incidents of alleged racism involving 18 officers. Football clubs should pay for policing further away from stadiums, Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt said on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers. A fire in a goods yard in Canning Town cut off electricity for 88,000.

The Spectator

Human wrongs

There is a danger in this week’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Abu Hamza and four other Islamic extremists can be extradited to face terror charges in America. The danger is that it makes the court look reasonable and in doing so weakens the case for removing Britain from its jurisdiction. The Prime Minister did nothing to allay this fear when he appeared flattered by the court’s ruling, admitting only to a little frustration at the speed of its decisions. But one apparently reasonable decision does not eliminate the court’s inadequacies, or the indefensible fact that Britain has to wait to hear from Strasbourg over matters of national security and sovereignty. Nor is this week’s decision final — Hamza and the others can appeal.

The Spectator

The week that was | 14 April 2012

Here is a selection of articles and discussions from this week on Spectator.co.uk... Most read and discussed: Sebastian Payne on the rise of UKIP. Most shared: Rod Liddle on the beacon for Islam — Mehdi Hasan. And the best of the rest... Fraser Nelson is unhappy on another triumph for big government and believes Mitt Romney is responsible for the 'charity tax' debacle. James Forsyth reports that Grant Shapps has 'deep reservations' on the conservatory tax and says the Blair-Brown wars continue to rage on. Jonathan Jones look the return of Operation Motorman and welcomes an attempt to fix the broken energy market.

Friday

The Spectator

From the archives: The loss of the Titanic

On Sunday, it'll be 100 years to the day since RMS Titanic sank during its maiden voyage. To mark the occasion, here is a piece about the disaster that appeared in The Spectator at the time: The loss of the ‘Titanic’, 20 April 1912 The appalling loss of life in the 'Titanic' and the story of what is in some ways the most terrible wreck in the history of shipping have not only compelled the emotion of the whole world, but have turned both Great Britain and the United States to wide and solemn searchings of heart.

The Spectator

Interview: Ed Vulliamy and the Bosnian Genocide

In June 1991 while working as a reporter in Rome, Ed Vulliamy received a phone call from his editor at the Guardian asking him to the travel to the neighbouring Balkan states to check out something strange that was happening in the region. Vulliamy spent the next few years immersed in the Bosnian War, the worst carnage to blight European soil since the Third Reich. In August 1992, Vulliamy revealed to the world the horrific concentration camps that were in operation in Omarska and Trnopolje in Bosnia. Vulliamy’s latest book The War is Dead, Long Live The War is a tribute to some of the survivors, who are now scattered across various cities around the world in exile.

Wednesday

The Spectator

Shelf Life: Nigel Havers

Nigel Havers is in the hotseat this week. He tells us about his intimacy with the Racing Post and his dreams of playing Casanova. You can catch him tonight in Corrie. 1) What are you reading at the moment? Fifty Shades of Grey – EL James 2) As a child, what did you read under the covers? The Racing Post 3) Has a book ever made you cry, and if so which one? The White Hotel – DM Thomas 4) You are about to be put into solitary confinement for a year and allowed to take three books. What would you choose? War & Peace – Leo Tolstoy, The Darling Buds of May – HE Bates, and Nostromo – Joseph Conrad 5) Which literary character would you most like to sleep with?

Sunday

The Spectator

The decline of the spirit

In celebration of the feast of Easter, we've dug out this profound leader from March 1975, which looks at the ever-evolving relationship of church and state.  The Church, the State and the decline of the spirit, The Spectator, 29 March 1975 Spring is a time of rebirth; yet it is also the time of the death of Christ. It is the time when "Jesus knew that his hour would come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end" (John 13.i). In the Spring and Easter of 1975 there is much evidence of the death and of the departure of the spirit of Christ, but precious little evidence of rebirth or revival, whether in religious affairs or in the affairs of the state.

Saturday